Belt Ornament (1100s): Art, History and Details

Belt Ornament (1100s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Metallurgy advanced remarkably in the Goryeo period (918-1392), explaining why a large quantity of sophisticated metal artifacts with delicate designs were used not only as daily accessories but also as burial goods. Belt ornaments like this example were fixed to leather belts. Surround by intricate arabesque patterns, a seated dear was done in the repoussé technique. Such animal motifs were widely shared among Eastern Eurasian tribes, from where the first settlers in the Korean peninsula originated.

Object facts

• Title: Belt Ornament
• Date: 1100s
• Culture: Korea, Goryeo dynasty (918–1392)
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: gilt bronze with repoussé relief
• Dimensions: Overall: 4.7 x 4.9 cm (1 7/8 x 1 15/16 in.)
• Collection: Korean Art
• Department: Korean Art
• Accession number: 1917.1053.2

A detail from the museum

The Japanese antique dealer Yamanaka & Company, which opened its branches in New York (1895) and Boston (1899), sold small Korean archaeological materials such as this belt ornament to American collectors in the early 20th century.

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

Further reading listed by the museum

• Jeon, Byoung-jin. "A Study on Gwadae of the Goryeo Dynasty [고려시대 銙帶 (과대) 연구]." Korean Journal of Art History 297 (Mar., 2018): 119-145.
• Kim, Moon-ja. "A Study on the Ornaments in Goryeo Dynasty [고려 시대 장신구에 대한 연구]." Journal of Korean Traditional Costume 15, vol. 3 (Dec., 2012): 5-21.
• Bronze in Life and Art [삶과 예술 속. 청동 靑銅 이야기] National Cheongju Museum (2016).

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.